Fisker Founder Says Search for Strategic Partner Ongoing

Anaheim-based luxury hybrid automaker Fisker Automotive Inc. is hoping to partner with another manufacturer, according to reports.

Company Founder and Chairman Henrik Fisker said that the company is searching for a partner that could assist with development and financing. It also is eyeing the possibility that a deal could bring a new supplier for basic parts “like steering wheels,” Fisker said in an interview with TheDetroitBureau, a website that covers the auto industry.

The comments echo similar plans mentioned by Chief Executive Tony Posawitz in October, and are seen as part of a bid by the automaker to right itself after being faced with a number of setbacks.

The most recent of those difficulties was the halt in production of the company’s sole vehicle model, the Karma, due to low battery supplies stemming from the bankruptcy of its supplier A123 Systems Inc. of Waltham, Mass. The company said it is holding its remaining battery supply for existing customers until there is an outcome with A123.

Fisker’s second model the Atlantic has been delayed until at least 2014 as it continues to negotiate with the federal government on receiving the rest of a $529 million loan. The automaker has so far received $193 million of that loan, but stopped receiving funding after missing required production and sales targets for its Karma.